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Sydsvenskan was founded in 1870.[1] In 1871 the paper merged with Snällposten which was started in 1848.[1]Sydsvenskan is headquartered in Malmö[2] and mostly distributed in southern Scania. Its coverage is characterized by local news from southwest Scania in addition to a full coverage of national, EU, and international news. The paper is owned by the Bonnier Group[3] which bought it in 1994.[2]

Until 1966, Sydsvenskan had close ties to the Rightist Party (now Moderate Party).[4][5] In the Swedish debate about the country's role in the EU and in relation to the Eurozone, the paper has emphasized the importance of a closer political, economical, and cultural affiliation to Europe.[4] Its stated editorial position is "independent liberal".[3]

Sydsvenskan introduced a soft paywall in February 2013. Those who did not have a paper subscription could view a maximum of 20 free articles per month.[8] A year after, this was changed to 5 articles per week.[9] Subscription models were available from 28 Swedish kronor, with the cheapest one giving full access to the website.[8] In August 2014, this was raised to 59 Swedish kronor (around US$7.10), as the former price was an introductory price.[10] A year after the introduction of the paywall, 60,000 subscribers had created accounts on the website and 4,000 had purchased a digital subscription.[9]

In 1998 the circulation of Sydsvenskan was 125,000 copies on weekdays and 146,000 copies on Sundays.[2] The paper had a circulation of 129,300 copies on weekdays in 2005.[3] It was 94,800 copies in 2012.[11] The circulation of the paper was 99,800 copies in 2013.[12]

In the end of April 2014, Sydsvenskan acknowledged their intention to buy Helsingborgs Dagblad. A deal was reached in the end of May and the Swedish Competition Authority approved it around two weeks after.[13] A strong reason was reported to be that both newspapers had seen their ad revenue decrease heavily.[14]